Macau was defeated 4-1 by India last night in their AFC Asian Cup qualifying match at Bangalore’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium, building on the 2-0 rout of Macau in the match’s first leg on September 5.
The two national teams were tied 1-1 at half-time – a strong start for the local underdogs – after goals by India’s Rowllin Borges and Macau’s Nicholas Torrão.
According to football analysts, Torrão’s 38th-minute goal took advantage of a lapse in the Indian defense. The two defenders guarding Torrão reacted late to a cross into the Macau footballer, and a deflection off one of the Indian players secured the goal.
But the stamina of the Macau team appeared to run dry as the second half went on and the team conceded three goals in the 60th, 71st, and 91st minutes during a prolonged Indian attack, that left the Macau team increasingly demoralized.
The result is the second worst defeat for Macau in this year’s qualifier rounds since its 4-0 loss to Myanmar on June 13.
India, ranked 107 in the world, has defeated all of its group’s challengers so far in the latest AFC Asian Cup qualifier round; namely Kyrgyzstan (128), Myanmar (157) and now Macau (182 on the FIFA ranking).
Macau lost both of its first leg matches against Kyrgyzstan (0-1) and Myanmar (0-4) and is due to play the second legs on November 14 and March 27, 2018, respectively.
After last night’s victory, India has guaranteed its ascension into the AFC Asian Cup Finals competition, standing on a total of 12 points, the maximum possible given the number of games thus far played. Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar both have four points apiece and will now compete for the second qualifier spot.
As of last night’s results, there remains a slim possibility that Macau can still qualify for the Finals competition. DB
No Comments